Darren Sylvester
Darren Sylvester
10 Track, LP (2009, Unstable Ape)
Related: Darren Sylvester.
It’s with an armful of nostalgia, irony, and deadpan humour that Darren Sylvester approaches his eponymous first album. Brimming with glam rock and new wave cliches and dramatics, its cheeks are puffed with opulence and camp. As the renowned artist flicks his impressive fringe across the album’s 10 tracks, paying homage to Bowie, T. Rex and other radio giants of the ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s, the question is as always: how much of a point is there in rerecording the past?
Sylvester’s voice is what ties this record together as it traverses slow, breezy pop, cheeky glam and even a poignancy that recalls Fleetwood Mac (on standout track ‘Twenty Three’). His articulation is woozy as befits the period from which he draws; sometimes, as on ‘Telephone on the TV’ and ‘My Boyfriend’s My Boss’, it’s patently disappointing. But that doesn’t stop him, and so it shouldn’t, because at other times (and, it should be noted, live) he pulls it off spectacularly.
Why? How? In the end, it comes down to Sylvester’s dry wit, the same that can be found in his photographic artwork. ‘That’s A Nice Haircut’ plays on mistaking chemotherapy for the work of a hairdresser (“I said – hey baby, it’s still a good haircut”), which will no doubt piss some people off. ‘Cellphone Warehouse’ manages to be both downhearted and coy, and while pairing consumerism and emotional isolation is far from unique, it’s nonetheless carried off with flair and a genuine sympathy for his subjects.
Sylvester creates his scenes with dozens of synthesizer and guitar tracks, as well as simple drum machine patterns – contrived to sound real and natural in their context. Crisp guitars splash and sparkle around the more evocative synth strings and piano lines that flesh out his compositions, while overdriven guitar figures only add to the sense of drama. On songs like ‘Too Uncool Too’, where a simple two-line bass figure anchors an addictive, chiming piano line and sweeping guitar swells, Sylvester’s talent as an arranger is apparent. Reverb and tumbling delays add space throughout the record.
While it seems inevitable that Sylvester’s voice will alienate some and tire others, and some songs don’t quite cut it (‘Michael’ being one example), there is something compelling happening here. Though it may sound like it at first blush, it’s not pure mimicry or idol worship that informs Sylvester either – more a deep phantasm that draws on a time and a place to tell its story.
Sad as they may seem, it’s impossible to take Sylvester’s songs very seriously. Perhaps this comes down to the air of desperate surrender, the overplayed performance, the knowing nod. But there is no wink, because in your mind – in this world he creates for you – his eyes are firmly closed the whole time, swimming in the many layers of his saturated tableaux.
by Babette Gladney
to listen to their music now on 
I HATE THE BEACH!
I've been meaning to post something about the last par, but every time I think I understand what it's trying to say I'm defeated. Would say that '' the air of desperate surrender, the overplayed performance, the knowing nod'' is a perfectly legitimate approach, just not by straight indie-rock standards.
I think you're approaching things the wrong way round here. The content isn't to be found int he record, it's in the fact that he actually made, released and even toured a record. The concept of the thing is more important than the content. That isn't to say that it isn't a solid, enjoyable record but I don't think it's one that can be understood from content alone, divorced from the fact that Noted Artist Darren Sylvester made it. It's almost McLaren-esque in some ways.
I can't believe the praise for this album. I've listened to it, and it's totally style over substance. Not bad, but not worthy of the praise it's been getting. For an ''international artist'' like him, it's disgraceful that we're lowering the bar for his music.
Calling his music art is not helpful either.
I think that's kind of the point.
He knows that Rock n Roll is craaaaazy......
i have very limited awareness of DS as an artist. know him as just another (albeit intriguing) human making music in melbourne. am i allowed to enjoy this record without having an awareness of the concept of ''international artist darren sylvester makes a record'', etc? because i really like it.
don't be ridiculous, anok. you can't like music on its merits, especially if you're from melbourne.
I'm fairly sure you can.
Of course you're allowed to like his music, I just hate the discussion of him as ''artist'' first, musician second.
Fuck it, I don't really know what I'm sooking about.
even without lowering any bars?
Seems like a pretty interesting fact though, given the album's origins - I like hearing about it as a creative process. I always find that when I'm trying to do something in one area (i.e. writing a thesis), I end up being more creative in another area (trying to write a lame novel or something).
I disagree that the content's to be found primarily in the fact that he made/released/toured it. If an artist can't be understood through their work alone - without the surrounding mess of context - how do we arrive at the conclusion that they're notable? Sylvester's life story (what little I know of it) doesn't seem particularly unusual, or noteworthy enough to lift this record to a higher plane of criticism or critical indemnity. His visual art certainly informs his approach and vice versa (remember - just because somebody hasn't released music doesn't mean they're not making it), but if Mick Turner's paintings can only be understood by reading them as the work of Noted Musician Mick Turner, that too seems to be missing the point.
You know - that said - there is an undeniable continuity between the album and his photomedia works. But that isn't the same as requiring knowledge of one to understand the other. Although the point at which I disagree with myself is this:
The one thing I don't think can be understood divorced from the fact that Noted Artist Darren Sylvester made it would be how much the vinyl costs (available since 2008 at CCP for something like $100).
Well, I think it sounds great and I'll be getting the record stat.
I don't think there are many artists wose full biography is required to understand and appreciate their work but it's quite clear that any artist's output is informed by who they are. In some cases it can be important to have this information in order to understand their work while in other cases you can get by without it.
In Darren's case the fact that he's a visual artist first and a musician second is pretty inescapable. The music has its origins as work intended to be played at an exhibition opening. It also explores themes that can be found in his visual work - events in life from the perspective of the outside observer. So we have these connections at the heart of the work and it makes it pretty hard to examine the music without looking at the rest of artist's output.
Do I think we can enjoy the music without knwoing who Darren is? Yeah, it's a good pastiche of '80s pop. It's got a beat and you can dance to it. It explores interesting themes. It's a more-interesting-than-the-run-of-the-mill indie record. But when you realise who made it and explore it in the context of the rest of his output it becomes much more interesting. In my case, I think that thinking about it this way is actually more interesting then the music on the record. Your mileage may vary and all that but for me the album is inseperable from it's creator and if the exact same record had been made by anyone else it wouldn't be anywhere near as good. Not because of the sounds on the record, but because of the context.
Is he the new Chicks on Speed?
Perhaps like Pierre Menard 'writing' Don Quixote, Darren Sylvester's project is a self-conscious reconstruction of a older musical genre that was perhaps created to inspire discussion about textual meanings. I think knowing that DS's music is a knowing reinterpretation of the past imbues his music with added meaning (personally), but in some ways it seems to be used as a justification for actually giving his music merit in the first place, like 'it's only good because it's part of an ironic art project.'
Update: I've gone off him.
Good call poster.
if a concept was all that was required to make art, then there would be a lot less beauty in the world.
having said that the cover is lovely and beautiful. very bing crosby late 40s very early 50s just pre frank..for it's colour saturation
Darren Sylvester Nominated For 'Bad Sex'?
I find it concerning that 24 minutes in the depths of m&n can turn ''getting the record stat'' into ''I've gone off him'' ..... .... As far as I understand, part / most of the record was initially recorded as part of another project, like JRB said, for an opening, hence the visual artist/musician thing is relevant and hence the record being sold at the CCP. Hats off to somebody work in the true pop idiom, and bombing the usual self indulgent imitation music concrete of every other visual artists ''side project''.
I was just being flippant… don't worry about it.
roger that